Reviews
 Keep It Simple
Van Morrison
Roger McGuinn @ the Huntington IMAC, Long Island, NY - April 4, 2008
Emily Saxe @ the Allen Room/Jazz at Lincoln Center - April 5, 2008
Another Country
Tift Merritt
Be Your Own Pet
Get Awkward
Paul McCartney – The McCartney Years (DVD)
Juno – Music from the Motion Picture
Various Artists
Yes - Their Definitive Story
Day and Night Driving
Seven Mary Three
InterMedia Arts Center 2/2/08
Huntington, NY
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After the huge success of ‘Speakerboxx/The Love Below’, it seemed only natural that Outkast would bust a move and branch out into film. Both Big Boi (Antwan A. Patton) and Andre Benjamin are larger than life characters whose personas can easily make the transition from audio to video, but are they large enough to fill the big screen? “Idlewild” answers that question with a resounding ’Yes” - but not without needing to overcome an obstacle or two.
The premise of “Idlewild” is the first obstacle. The film is intended to be a period piece taking place in the late ‘20s, but it utilizes contemporary hip-hop as its musical base. Naturally, that requires a wide berth so we can swallow the premise and shove all of our suspended disbelief under the seat, but if you accept the inherent contradiction (hey, dogs talk in some movies, right?), it goes down easier than you might expect. Just think of “Idlewild” as a stylized history that morphs 2006 into 1926. The harder obstacle is making all of the details work on camera without any obvious inherent contradiction, and the set design and cinematography are the real stars of this picture. Director Bryan Barber works miracles with the computerized imagery, morphing black and white images onto full-color backdrops with unique and entertaining stop-motion techniques. The sets are also magnificent, especially the nightclub where most of the action takes place, and I can’t even get started about the costuming, which is sure to be nominated for an Academy award. Yet another obstacle faced by “Idlewild” is to overcome comparisons to “Purple Rain,” (musicians down on their luck, need to overcome personal hardships and thwart evil people to reach their potential for greatness…), but more about that later.
Since Andre has been the most fashion forward member of Outkast, and he has also voiced some disinterest in maintaining a musical career, you might expect that he would provide the focal point for “Idlewild,” but it’s ‘Big Boi’ Antwan Patton who lights up the screen and carries the movie. As Rooster, he has energy to spare, which befits a movie where most of the action is visual. Andre’s Percival is another matter entirely. He spends entirely too much screen time brooding, especially since the storyline is simply not strong enough to support any ‘internal’ dialog. Ben Vereen, Patti Labelle and Cicely Tyson all appear in supporting roles, but Macy Gray nearly steals the movie as Taffy, the wisecracking singer who feels threatened by the new girl Angel (played convincingly by Paula Patton). Her opening number (with the accompanying dance routine) is worth the cost of a ticket all by itself.
Musically, “Idlewild” is a very mixed bag. There is plenty here for an entertaining soundtrack, but some of the material is uneven. The revamped “Bow Tie” is brilliant, as is the novelty number “Clocks,” not to mention Antwan’s brilliant rap during the car chase. Unfortunately, the film slows to a funeral’s pace by movie’s end (or a funeral parlor’s pace), and the closing number (pre-credits) “When I Look in Your Eyes” does nothing to help matters. Despite its inconsistency, “Idlewild” is as sexy, stylized and contemporary as” Purple Rain” was back in 1984. It lacks the climactic soundtrack of Prince’s movie, but it compensates by making 1926 look cool and new, while convincing you to believe that rappers were drinking hooch and performing in speakeasies.
Movie Grade: B+
Tom Ryan
 
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